Apparatus for controlling movements at a distance



1. L. ROUTIN.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENTS AT A DISTANCE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. 1919.

1,409,586D Patented Mar. 141, 1922.

JOSEPH LOUIS ROUTIN, OF PAR-IS, FRANCE. y

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENTS AT A DISTANGE.

mosses.

Specificationnf Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

Application filed June 24, 1919. Serial No. 306,476.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH LoUIs ROUTIN, aresident of Paris, in theRepublic of France, have invented new and useful Im- Jprovements inApparatus for Controlling Iovements at a Distance, which invention isfully set forth in the following specification.

The present invention relates to electrical apparatus for indicating andrepeating angular movements at a distance, and more particularly toapparatus of the above class in which an annularrheostat is situated ata transmitting station and is connected through a source of current toone or more like rheostats at the receiving stations. The exactrepetition of the movements being transmitted from one station to theother is controlled by the maintenance at zero ofthe needle of avoltmeter included in a conductor connecting the brushes of the tworheostats.

In such apparatus as heretofore construct ed, it may happen that thedegree of exactness of the transmission is diminished if one of thereceivers is rendered stationary for any reason. The current which thenflows through the volt-meter of this receiver has a tendency to disturbthe uniformity of dis tribution of the voltage in the rheostat of thetransmitter.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improvement whichwill enable that drawback to be avoided by producing the absoluteindependence of each of the receivels. This present improvement allowsalso of indicating at the transmitting station the correct placing ofthe parts to be controlled, and of indicating when necessary, which partor parts is or are not correctly placed.

The accompanying diagrammatic drawing illustrates by way of example oneconstructional form of the improvement of the present invention.

1 is the rheostat of the transmitting station; I

33 are the rheostats of the receiving stations;

2 is the axle around which the brushes 5 and 7 revolve;

4 is the axle around which the brushes 6 and 8 revolve;

15 is the battery that feeds the rheostats;

9-9 are the voltmeters of the receiving stations, each provided with twowindings 20 and. 21.

In the accompanyingdrawing is shown a lVheatstone bridge in one branchof which is located a rheostat 1 at the sending station,

and in companion branches are two or more rheostats 3, 3 located at thereceiving'stations. These rheostats are branched in parallel from acommon source of current such as a battery 15. In bridge circuitsconnecting the brush elements of these rheostats' are voltmeters 9, 9.The exact repetition of the movements transmitted fromthe sendingstation tothe receiving stations is controlled by maintaining theneedles of the voltmeters at zero.

In order to maintain the absolute independence of the receivers and tosecure other objects of the present invention, I provide conductingbrush elements 5, 7, mounted on an insulating arm pivoted at its center2, which wipe the rheostat coil 1. Similar double brushes 6, 8 at thereceiving stationsare adapted to rotate about pivots 4, 4 and wiperheostat coils 3, 3. Brush elements 5, 7 of the transmitting stationrheostat are connected in circuit with voltmeters 25, 26 with switcharms 31, 32 which are adapted to be rotated by a motor 24 and to wipepairs of distributor contacts 22, 23. The contacts of pair 22 areconnected in bridge circuits with coils 20, 20 of voltmeters 9, 9 andthe contacts of pair 23 are connected with coils 21, 21 of the samevoltmeters. Brush 5 of the sending stat-ion rheostat is adapted to beconnected through distributor terminals 22 with either of brushes 6. 6through voltmeter coils 20, 20, and brush '7 of the sending stationrheostat is adapted to be connected with either of the brushes 8, 8through distributor terminals 230i the same voltmeters.

The association of two brushes such as 5, 7 and 6, 8 assures thecontinuous indication by the voltmeter needle in spite of the breaksuccessively produced in each of the circuits 5-6 and 78 when thecorresponding brushes find themselves in the zone which separates thetwo ends of the rheostat, as more fully explained in my Patent No.1,402,096, issued Jan. 3, 1922. times, both brushes 5 and 7, forinstance, may wipe the spires of the rheostat. The sensitiveness of thevoltmeter will be increased by the resulting increase of current. Theoperation of the system is in no way interfered with by this fact sinceonly zero reading on the voltmeters are taken.

The improvement accordingto the present invention consists in this that20 and 21 are now connected only in a temporary manner to the contactsand 7 of the transmitter, in such a. manner that the windings of theseveral voltmeters will be placed successively in operation, and therewill never be two receiving voltmeters in simultaneous operation.

Under these conditions the possible reac tions which an accidentallystopped receiver mayha-ve upon those that remain in operation, will becompletely eliminated. The distributors 22 and 23 which allow ofeffecting this cutting-out of circuit, consist of fixed contact piecesarranged in a circuit at which terminate respectively the ends of thewindings and 21, and of two revolving contact pieces which are connectedrespectively to 5 and 7. These revolving contacts are actuated by asmall motor 24.

It is evident that, when all otthe receivers are correctly placed, theconductors which are connected to the contacts 5 and 7 of thetransmitting station are never traversed except by a. current of veryfeeble intensity. In order to insure that all of-the receivers arecorrectly placed, it sutlices, therefore, to install twomilliamperemeters 25 and 26 on the said conductors. If the index of thevoltmeters 25 and 26 do not rest in the neighborhood of zero, it wouldbe concluded that one, at least, of the receivers is not correctlyplaced. In the case where it is necessary to be able to know at thetransmitting station which receiving stationis not executing correctlythe orders transmitted, it is. necessary to introduce theinilliamperemeters 27, 28, 29 and 30 on each of the conductors whichconnects the voltmeters 9 to the distributors 22, 23.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for controlling movements at a plurality of receivingstations from a transmitting. station comprising a VVheatstone bridgeincluding a source of current, said bridge having one branch located atthe transmittin station and having a plurality of companion branchesindividual to said receiving stations, a bridge circuit between saidtransmitting station and each of said receiving stations including avoltmeter for each receiving station and means for varying the relationof the resistances in each branch of said bridge, and switch means forsuccessively closing the current paths through said voltmeters.

2. pparatus for controlling movements at a plurality of receivingstations from a transmitting station comprising a Wheatstone bridgeincluding a source of current, said bridge having one branch including arheostat located at the transmitting station and having a plurality, ofcompanion branches including rheostats individual to said receivingstations, a bridge. circuit between said transmitting station rheostatand each of said receiving station rheostats including a voltmeter ateach receiving station, movable contacts for varying the relation of theresistances in said rheostats, a motor driven switch arm, and aconductor including a voltmeter connecting said arm and a movablecontact of the sending station rheostat and adapted to successivelyclose said bridge circuits,

3. Apparatus for controlling movements at a plurality of receivingstations from a transmitting station comprising a Wheatstone bridgeincluding a-source of current, said bridge having one branch located atthe transmitting station and having a plurality of companion branchesindividual to said receiving stations, a bridge circuit between saidtransmitting station and each of said receiving stations including avoltmeter for each receiving station and means-tor varying the relationof the resistances in each branch of said bridge, and motor-drivenswitches for successively closing said bridge circuits. p

4. Apparatus for controlling movements at a-plurality of receivingstations from a transmitting station comprising a Wheatstone bridgeincluding a source ofcurrent, said bridge having one branch including arheostat located at the transmitting station and having a plurality ofother branches including rheostats individual to said receivingstations, a bridge circuit between said sending station rheostat andeach of said receiving station rheostats, each branch including avoltmeter at each receiving station and a milliamperemeter at thesending station, movable contacts for varying the relation of theresistances in said rheostats, a motor-driven switch arm, a conductorincluding a voltmeter connecting said arm, and

'a movable contact of the sending station rheostat, said switch armbeing adapted to successively close said bridge circuits.

In testimony whereof I have signed this Sp8C1l1C3i310Il.

JOSEPH LOUIS ROUTIN.

Signed in the presence cit-- P nrnn PETERSEN, LOUIS Garner.

